McLaughlin reunited with title-winning Falcon
Scott McLaughlin has been reacquainted with the Falcon he carried to his first Supercars title.
McLaughlin, who is based Stateside racing IndyCar, reunited with the 2018 title winner overnight.
The Ford Falcon FG X has been restored to its 2018 Shell V-Power Racing Team livery.
Complete in Newcastle finale stickers, the car will reside in the Penske Racing Museum in Phoenix.
It was the only car McLaughlin raced across the 2017 and 2018 seasons.
The car is the second-most successful winning Falcon chassis of the Supercars era.
The top honour belongs to Marcos Ambrose’s Stone Brothers Falcon of 2003-05.
Title victory in Falcon's farewell
McLaughlin arrived at DJR Team Penske in 2017 and won eight races en route to second overall.
That year, he set a record-breaking 2:03.8s Bathurst Shootout lap.
He returned with the same car in 2018, won nine races and his first of three drivers’ titles.
McLaughlin claimed the title in the thrilling Newcastle showdown with Shane van Gisbergen.
In all, he won 17 races and took 29 pole positions in the Falcon.
It was situated at Dick Johnson Racing’s Queensland headquarters where it was restored.
After his 2018 title win, McLaughlin said he was "sad" to part ways with the final title-winning Falcon.
"I probably won’t get back in that thing for a while," he said.
"She’s been a good girl.
"The amount of wins and poles we’ve had, we’ve added a few stickers to the door."
McLaughlin, who is sixth in the IndyCar standings with three races to go, stepped into a Mustang in 2019.
The Kiwi won 31 races, including the 2019 Bathurst 1000, in the next two seasons.
The 2019 car was severely damaged in a Gold Coast qualifying crash.
It has since been rebuilt and is also en route to the US.
Between 2017 and 2020, McLaughlin won three championships, 48 races and 59 poles for DJR Team Penske.
To date, McLaughlin is the most successful Ford driver with regards to race wins.
He departed for IndyCar at the end of 2020 to pursue a career in IndyCar.
The Kiwi already has two IndyCar wins, at St. Petersburg and Mid-Ohio, to his name in 2022.
He became Team Penske's most prolific pole-sitter when he topped qualifying in Nashville last week.
The 29-year-old will continue his IndyCar campaign at World Wide Technology Raceway next week.
McLaughlin’s former squad, Shell V-Power Racing Team, will hit the track at Sandown on the same weekend.
The 2022 season will resume at Sandown on August 19-21. Purchase your tickets now.
